climbing_vine
Well-known
Hi all. After spending 18 months with my Hi-Matics and etc, which I love, I've decided to make the jump to interchangeable-lens rangefinders. Unless you count the Argus C3, which I don't. 😉
I've been reading here and elsewhere for months, gone over sites such as cameraquest in detail over and over (my wife wonders how I can stare at the same pages so many times). As a newlywed, most of my money is going into house savings and towards travel (which we figure we better do as much as possible before we have a house and eventually kids to take care of). So, at least to start, my budget is capped at probably about $400.
I shoot mostly low light, post 6PM in the city both indoors and out. I prefer a 35 for my go-to lens, but a 50 is workable; it's more important that I get something as fast as possible, within reason.
I'd considered getting a Kiev or a Fed (from Yuri or Oleg, most likely) and something like the 35/1.7 Ultron. However, the more I think about it--and having been impressed by some results posted here from the Jupiter-3--I'm leaning towards reversing that idea, with a modern body and a Soviet lens to start with.
My reasoning has two main points:
1. A modern body will (hopefully) have the advantage in ergonomics and reliability. Wind levers, better grip material, easier film loading, things like that. It'll just be more comfortable, and therefore more efficient and more enjoyable, to shoot with. I already have some classics that I enjoy shooting with (and rebuilding) when I'm in that sort of mood, and I'm leaning towards going the other direction here.
2. Outside I rarely use a meter but I often do indoors (my brain doesn't handle sunny-16 very well in artificial light, somewhow). I often shoot on walkabout with no bag (often in places where even a small bag would be prohibitively cumbersome), just a few rolls of film and a spare battery in my pocket, so carrying another accessory on my person often is not attractive. So, a built-in meter is a non-essential but very nice thing to have.
With that and my budget in mind I'm leaning towards either a Bessa R or R2, depending on how much I decide to spend on this vs. Christmas presents. 😉 So to those who have handled and preferably used both, does the R2 feel that much better in the hands? How do they each handel? I can just barely fit an R2, a J3, and a M/screw adapter into my budget. May need to go for a 'user' condition R2 from Ebay to make it work. On the other hand, a used R can easily be had for under $200; combined with a ~$80 J3 from Yuri, it looks (on paper) like a good start and comes in well under budget which is nice.
Of course, along with "R vs R2" everyone should feel free to chime in with overall thoughts on my half–baked plan here. Part of me keeps thinking I should just get a Kiev and a J3 and worry about other stuff after I save up more cash, but I'm afraid that might just whet my appetite for a "nicer" body (cf. Ash and his Contax). 🙂 Thanks for any input in advance...
I've been reading here and elsewhere for months, gone over sites such as cameraquest in detail over and over (my wife wonders how I can stare at the same pages so many times). As a newlywed, most of my money is going into house savings and towards travel (which we figure we better do as much as possible before we have a house and eventually kids to take care of). So, at least to start, my budget is capped at probably about $400.
I shoot mostly low light, post 6PM in the city both indoors and out. I prefer a 35 for my go-to lens, but a 50 is workable; it's more important that I get something as fast as possible, within reason.
I'd considered getting a Kiev or a Fed (from Yuri or Oleg, most likely) and something like the 35/1.7 Ultron. However, the more I think about it--and having been impressed by some results posted here from the Jupiter-3--I'm leaning towards reversing that idea, with a modern body and a Soviet lens to start with.
My reasoning has two main points:
1. A modern body will (hopefully) have the advantage in ergonomics and reliability. Wind levers, better grip material, easier film loading, things like that. It'll just be more comfortable, and therefore more efficient and more enjoyable, to shoot with. I already have some classics that I enjoy shooting with (and rebuilding) when I'm in that sort of mood, and I'm leaning towards going the other direction here.
2. Outside I rarely use a meter but I often do indoors (my brain doesn't handle sunny-16 very well in artificial light, somewhow). I often shoot on walkabout with no bag (often in places where even a small bag would be prohibitively cumbersome), just a few rolls of film and a spare battery in my pocket, so carrying another accessory on my person often is not attractive. So, a built-in meter is a non-essential but very nice thing to have.
With that and my budget in mind I'm leaning towards either a Bessa R or R2, depending on how much I decide to spend on this vs. Christmas presents. 😉 So to those who have handled and preferably used both, does the R2 feel that much better in the hands? How do they each handel? I can just barely fit an R2, a J3, and a M/screw adapter into my budget. May need to go for a 'user' condition R2 from Ebay to make it work. On the other hand, a used R can easily be had for under $200; combined with a ~$80 J3 from Yuri, it looks (on paper) like a good start and comes in well under budget which is nice.
Of course, along with "R vs R2" everyone should feel free to chime in with overall thoughts on my half–baked plan here. Part of me keeps thinking I should just get a Kiev and a J3 and worry about other stuff after I save up more cash, but I'm afraid that might just whet my appetite for a "nicer" body (cf. Ash and his Contax). 🙂 Thanks for any input in advance...
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